Now that the Christmas presents are all wrapped and Christmas cards are in the mail, I can share with you one of my favorite parts of our wedding: the photographer. Mitch at Zuma Photo is truly awesome. We loved him from the first time we viewed his online portfolio. We met him for lunch to see if our personalities clicked and from that moment on he became my de facto wedding planner. Every time I had a question about whether I should do something, I would call Mitch. I'm sure by the end he wanted to throttle me, but he would never let it show.
Click here to view our online photos. The password is Liberty.
He is in the process of creating our wedding album (we asked him to wait until after the Christmas rush). I cannot wait to see the final product.
The only regret I have is that I did not give Mitch a shot list. His style is very much photojournalistic, which is why we picked him. But if you have to have a posed shot with Aunt Bertha, you better let him know. That said, he took so many pictures we got most of what we wanted and were ecstatic with the results.
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Weddding Wednesday: Zuma Photos
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Wedding Wednesday: STDs
No, it's not what you're thinking. In wedding speak, STDs = Save the Dates. Rod and I had initially planned on not sending STDs. We thought they would be wasteful and contrary to our environmentally friendly theme. But, after one of our friends tried to schedule a rafting trip on the weekend of our wedding, we decided we should send some sort of reminder to our friends.
We compromised with an electronic save the date. Once again, we relied on the talents of Tobin. Here is what he came up with: 
Although electronic save the dates may not be the most extravagant option, this was the low stress, environmentally friendly option and the right option for us.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Wedding Wednesday: The Guestbook
I love pictures! I am a camera geek. I bring my camera with me everywhere and document everything. We considered several options for our guestbook--the framed/matted picture, a vase full of river rocks, a professional photo album with our engagement pictures. In the end, we decided that the best fit for our personalities would be a handcrafted photo album with pictures from us as children, growing up, dating, etc. We liked that it gave us a place to use photos from throughout our relationship (not just the engagement) and to honor the important people in our lives, including our family members who are no longer with us.
We actually already had the album itself. A friend, Sarah, had given me a large brown album with thick paper for my birthday. It was too beautiful to use for just anything, so I had been saving it for a special occasion. It was perfect! 
Next, we picked out pictures that we liked and separated them into four categories: pictures of us by ourselves, together, with our families, and with our friends. My mom helped me cut out mattes to frame the pictures and attach them with photo corners. We left a lot of extra space between the photos so that there would be plenty of room for our guests to write.
We contacted Ron Tate, a very talented calligrapher, to write in the album. He studied the laurenscript font that we used on our stationary and within an hour was able to recreate it in our album. We had him write "Jen & Rod" on a page with a picture of me and a picture of Rod at age 3, "With their families" with pictures of us and our families, "and their friends" with pictures of our friends, "Together" with pictures of the two of us, and "Forever" with our wedding invitation. There were several pages following each titled page with more pictures in that category. The rest of the book is blank for us to add more pictures of us as our lives progress. 
We put the guestbook out on a table with framed pictures of us from our engagement and bridal sessions and pictures of us with family members that had passed on. I carefully picked out felt tipped markers in robins egg, green apple, purple, and brown. I wrapped them with floral tape and topped them with white silk flowers (the ones you get on all the Pottery Barn wrapped gifts). The pens were arranged in a flower pot with coffee beans. We created a sign to sit next to the guestbook that read "Please share your favorite memories of the bride and/or groom, words of wisdom for their future, a funny story about them, or your favorite moment of the day." 
It is so fun to have this keepsake of our special day.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Wedding Wednesday: Posh Posy
I HEART Svetlana, the stylista behind Posh Posy. She was absolutely amazing. I knew I wanted Svetlana to do my flowers before I even knew her name. She did the flowers for my friend Melanie's wedding. They were the most memorable flowers I have seen at any wedding ever.
When I met with Svetlana, I came armed with this: 
and about a million other pictures of flowers I clipped from Bridal magazines.
I had a clear vision of what I wanted, but was not sure if it was doable (or affordable). I knew I wanted a big centerpiece made of branches with hanging tealights and simple flowers in series of eclectic vases. I also really loved little green flowers (Svetlana explained that they are called kermits), hydrangea, and pomanders. One of our main concerns was that the flowers were environmentally friendly--no exotic flowers or huge bouquets of flowers that would die in day anyway. I had been collecting vases from thrift shops and planned on using these instead of purchasing new ones.
Svetlana took my ideas and ran with them. These are the mock-ups she came up with for five centerpieces: (1) Branches, (2) Grass, (3) Pomanders, (4) submerged flowers, and (5) single flowers in eclectic vases. I was more thrilled with some than others. I loved the pomander, grass, and branch centerpiece, but the submerged flower and single bud centerpieces did not do it for me.
After round one, I asked Svetlana to slightly alter some of the arrangements. I nixed the submerged flower idea. It looks good with exotic flowers, but those flowers were not right for our "green" wedding plans or with our style. Rather than put the single flowers in a series of eclectic vases, I found these images 
and decided reused bottles was prettier and greener. She also took the third image to come up with the box centerpiece that replaced the submerged flowers.
Here are the incredible results: 
I would highly recommend Svetlana/Posh Posy to anyone who is looking for creative flowers. She was a joy to work with. Her ideas were great and she was willing to work within out budget. Thanks Posh Posy!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Wedding Wednesday: Out Of Town Bags
One of the first projects I tackled in the wedding process was the out-of-town bags. Both of our families (and many of our friends) were traveling long distances to attend the wedding. We wanted to greet them with something that would show them our appreciation and also give them all of the information they would need to find the wedding and pre-wedding activities.
To comply with our low impact theme, we tried to get all of the goodies from local vendors. We also wanted the bags to reflect our personalities. We decided to include items from each of our home states and from our new home. The bags included the following:
Great Salt Lake Salt Water Taffy (in our wedding colors)
Jar of Miller's Pure Honey
Idaho Spud Bar
Small bottle of Tabasco
Small salt shaker of Tonys (a popular seasoning in Louisiana)
A brochure with information about SLC, the weekend itinerary, suggested locations and restaurants, and a map to our house (for the pre-wedding BBQ) and Log Haven (for the wedding.
All of this was carried in a reusable canvas bag with out logo screenprinted on it.
Now for the DIY details:
Salt Water Taffy - the Great Salt Lake Taffy Company was awesome to work with. They even made special print outs of their labels and gave us a history of the taffy to include in the bags. I had to run the labels through a sticker machine. My mom and I cut off some cellophane bags, filled them with taffy, and sealed them with the labels.
Tabasco/Tony's - We put both of these in a little box with a seal that looked like the tabasco label. Tobin, my awesome friend and graphic designer, changed the tabasco label to say "Taste of Louisiana".
The Map and brochure - The brochure was a simple print and folding project. We used a special stapler to bind the cardstock pages together. We were lazy and purchased the map from etsy. For security reasons, I won't print the map or brochure here, but if you are interested in seeing how it turned out, email me.
The Bag - When we went to visit my mom and stepdad in Denver, they showed us how to screenprint the logos onto our bags. 
We left the bags in the hotel rooms of our guests in the Residence Inn (our recommended accommodations). I loved how these turned out!
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Wedding Wednesday: Invitations
I became addicted early on on to letterpressed invitations. I looked and looked but could not find a vendor that was not cost prohibitive and actually made invitations that looked like something you would want to make the first impression of your wedding. Then, on a random comment thread, I found Mercurio Brothers. The website leaves something to be desired, but their samples were great and the reviews I heard were overwhelmingly positive. The only problem, they have a ridiculously long lead time. We had to skip the save the date step and head right to the invitation.
I had a really concrete idea about how I wanted the invitation to look: two birds in a tree (a specific tree I had seen on another website). I also fell in love with the Veer font, 
but it was too expensive. I opted for the free and pretty Laurenscript instead. We wanted to acknowledge our families on the invitation so we started it "Together with their families. . . ."
Even though I knew what I wanted, I was having trouble executing. For this, I needed professional help. I turned to my good friend and graphic designer, Tobin Hagen. He eventually sent me a proof that would become this
It was EXACTLY how I envisioned! And I absolutely adored the thick paper and letterpressed images.
Then, to minimize our environmental impact, we decided to use a postcard for our RSVP cards and, rather than an inner envelope, Rod and I made collars to tie the invitation and RSVP card together. Here is the final product (ignore the awful pictures).
It was exactly what we wanted. Tobin also designed our logo, which we used on everything from invitations, to out-of-town bags, to favors. 
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wedding Wednesday
If you feel like you have traveled back in time, don't worry, I am not planning another wedding. A few friends (you know who you are) asked me to blog about some of the details and planning process for the wedding. There were a lot of things that I didn't blog about before the wedding because I didn't want to spoil the surprise.
When I first started planning, I was all over the map. I bought new wedding magazines every time I went to the store and sometimes went to the store for the sole purpose of picking up another. I must have torn out thousands of pages of ideas. The problem, as my trusted advisor Kim pointed out to me, was that there was no cohesive theme. I knew that I wanted to have a low impact wedding, but I was having a hard time not using all of the great ideas that I saw. I decided that to focus myself, I needed to make an inspiration board.
Rod quickly shot down my first idea for a theme: wildflowers. I thought yellow and purple wildflowers would be beautiful and play perfectly into our earth friendly goals. I had idealistic notions of my bridesmaids and I going into the mountains and gathering flowers the morning of the wedding and putting them in vases we picked up at the thrift store. Rod pointed out, however, that I would most certainly be teased by all the Louisiana folks for using LSU colors. That statement along with the heart palpatations I started to get thinking about doing our own flowers along with everything else we had to do that day pretty much killed our wildflower theme.
Here are my next attempts: 
I asked the three people I trust the most when it comes to style (Kate, Kim, and Mindy) what they thought. They all really liked both inspiration boards, which was great, but it didn't help me narrow down my theme any. In the end, I decided to use elements and colors from both boards. Our theme: Lovebirds and Tree Branches. Our colors: Chocolate Brown, Green Apple, Robin's Egg Blue, and hints of lilac.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
The Morning After
The morning after the wedding, we woke up exhausted and with a pound of birdseed in the sheets. I'm sure Hotel Monaco's housekeepers are still wondering about that one. We checked out and headed home where my bridesmaids, Miriam, Stephen, Elise, my mom, Larry, and Holly had already gathered. Michael stopped by on his way out of town (Mom, Larry, and Holly left at the same time). It was the first of many goodbyes we would have to say that day.
Those friends and relatives that were still in town met us for brunch at Porcupine. It was nice to finally visit with people without being completely preoccupied with the wedding.
After brunch, we went back home. I'm happy to say that instead of packing for the honeymoon, unwrapping presents, or organizing all of the stuff from the weddings, I sat down and just talked to my bridesmaids. I think it was the first real conversation I had with them since they got here. It was so nice.
When it was time to take Mindy to the airport, we all hugged and said goodbye. It has been so incredible to be surrounded by my best friends and family the last week. I'm glad that Stephen and Elise stuck around to see us off or I would have been depressed to come home to an empty house.
Rod and I spent the rest of the afternoon unwrapping presents and packing for the honeymoon. We couldn't stand to see all of our beautiful flowers go to waste so we packed them up and took them to a nursing home.
We ended the night by taking Stephen and Elise to The Bayou. I wish that we could have stayed a couple days more to show them around Salt Lake. I guess now they will have an excuse to come back. :)
The next morning, it was off to the Yucatan. Check out the details on my travel blog.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Rest of the Night
The whole reception went too quickly. Even now, I have moments where I'll remember something that I had completely forgotten or hear a story about something that happened that I had completely missed. I do remember that the dance floor was packed pretty much the whole night thanks to our awesome band, Gearhead. At the end of the night, the crowd made the band keep playing. It was kind of funny because I've never seen a band play an encore at a wedding. The band would have kept playing, too, but our venue was closing down and our towncar was waiting. 
Here are a couple of other moments (in no particular order) that stand out in my memory:
The Cake Cutting. Neither of us really had any idea how we were supposed to cut the cake and I guess we did it wrong because we started on the top layer. We had not planned to save the top layer so it wasn't really a problem, but it did look funny. We did not smash it into each other's face. That was the only bite of cake I got the whole night. I was really disappointed I didn't get more (especially of the almond poppy and rasberry filling layer).
Ladies Night. I asked the band to play a song that would get all the ladies (single and married) out on the dance floor before I threw the bouquet. The went with "Ladies Night" and the girls went crazy. One of my bridesmaids, without prompting, undid her sash and, thus, a limbo bar was born. Some of my guests were more flexible (and sober) than others. I made it under, despite my huge dress, without any problems. But Judge McHugh did not fare so well. 
The Bouquet Toss. As the song ended, I raced to the table to grab the bouquet Elise and Katie had helped me make earlier in the day. I wanted to throw it before anyone had a chance to escape from the floor. This was important because the bouquet was not intended for just the single girls. I have been at enough weddings where the single women are dragged against their will to catch the bouquet and "be the lucky girl who will get married next." I didn't want that for any of my guests. Instead, I made a fortune bouquet. It is basically one bouquet made out of several little bouquests. Each of the bouquests had a silver charm and a fortune on it. All of the charms and fortunes were different. I was so fun to see everyone scramble for all the bouquets. I still don't know who got which fortunes, though. If you got one, please email me or post it in the comments!
The Anniversary Dance. With my actual bouquet, I had something more special planned. About six months before Rod proposed, my grandma was diagnosed with Guillon-Barre Syndrome, a neurological disease that causes temporary paralysis. No one knows what causes it and there are not really any accepted treatments except to administer gammaglobulin and wait. One day she was up walking around, the next morning she could not get out of bed. Although this disease usually goes away 100%, she is older than most of the people affected with it and has had a really hard time recovering from it. When Rod proposed, she still could not walk or even move her legs. After Rod proposed, I told her that she would have to get better so that she could dance at my wedding.
Over Christmas, she still could not walk on her own, but she was starting to get stronger and be able to get around with her wheelchair. She could walk with a walker if her physical therapist was holding onto her. She told me then that she would really like to dance to Anne Murray's "Could I have this Dance for the Rest of My Life" at the wedding.
When I started planning the details of the wedding, I knew the perfect place for it. I asked Larry, my stepdad, to sing it with our band (they learned the song just for our wedding). At the beginning of the song, the band invited everone who was married onto the dance floor. After about 30 seconds, they asked anyone who had been married for less than a year to leave the floor. Rod and I were clearly eliminated. The band continued to eliminate couples by the length of their marriage until only my grandparents were left on the floor. After they had the floor to themselves for awhile, Rod and I joined them. At the end of the dance, I handed my Grandma the bouquet. My grandma still had to hold onto my grandpa for support, but it was incredible to see them dancing together. You could just see the love in their eyes! Other than the moment I said I do, this was by far the most emotional (and unforgettable) moment of the evening for me.
When I was planning the anniversary song, I did not know that my grandparents would win. I knew that they would be out there until almost the end, but I also knew that Rod's grandparents had been married for a long time too. Rod's grandparents, who had taken the shuttle, had to leave just before the song. I tried to get them to stay and the band to play the song early, but it just didn't work out. It turns out, though, that it would have been a very close contest. Rod's grandparents have been married for 58 years--one less than my grandparents. I love that Rod and I both have these great examples of lasting marriages.
UPDATE: This moment seems even more poignant now. I just learned that Grandma is back in the hospital. Her platelettes and white cell blood count are really low. It seems like every time she is making progress something happens to set her back. 
Garter Toss. Mindy was kind enough to get me a garter. I had completely forgot about it. Rod didn't take it off the traditional way (with his teeth), but he still managed. We were so happy when our friend Kevin caught it. His girlfriend of several years, Jael, is beautiful and awesome and we hope that this is a good sign for their futures. 
Let's Get this Party Started. Judge McHugh, never one to sit on the sidelines, grabbed Rod as soon as I finished my dance with my Grandpa and hit the dancefloor. Judge McHugh is such a fun, wonderful person. This only confirmed that we had made the right choice in asking her to perform our ceremony. 
Okay, now it's really official. About midway through the evening, we realized we had still not signed our marriage license. Oops! We had to take a break from the dance floor and git'er done. All jokes aside, though, it was really nice to have a minute alone with just our best man and our maid of honor. It felt so final when I set my pen to the paper. Yes, now we are officially married . . . well, we will be after we remember (post honeymoon) that we also need to fill out the rest of the application and mail them to the state). 
Dancing with my little men. If I haven't mentioned it yet, our ringbearers (my nephews) and our junior groomsmen (my baby brother Jordan) are adorable. Towards the end of the night, I grabbed Bradley and Jordan each for a different dance. The spinning concept was interesting since they are both quite a bit shorter than me (Jordan is quickly gaining on me).
Dancing with Rod's Dad. When the band struck up "Play that Funky Music White Boy," I couldn't resist grabbing Rod's dad and dragging him onto the dance floor. He didn't take too much persuading. :) 
WDWGDAS. Rod is a huge Jimmy Buffet fan. Some of my earlies memories of him were during our first year of law school when Rod would get up and karaoke to Jimmy Buffet. His favorite, of course, was "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw." So for the last dance of the evening (before the encore anyway). Rod requested WDWGDAS. The band leader was a little incredulous, but eventually gave in, "It's your wedding man." I know it is a crass song, but it brought back so many memories during our relationship, and well, it is just a fun song. It was exactly how I thought the evening should end. 
The Getaway. Right before we ran out, our friends and family made a quick stop at the birdseed table. We walked out the door and ran down the front path, getting sprayed with birdseed the whole way. Everyone was cheering. Despite my efforts to shake it out that night, I found about 6 oz. of birdseed in the bed the next morning. I'm sure the Hotel Monaco housekeeping crew is still scratching their heads about that one. :)
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